Push Notifications From Popular Apps Are Becoming Increasingly Useless And Annoying (wired.com) 169
David Pierce, writing for Wired: Push notifications are ruining my life. Yours too, I bet. Download more than a few apps and the notifications become a non-stop, cacophonous waterfall of nonsense. Here's just part of an afternoon on my phone:
"Hi David! We found new Crown jewels and Bottle caps Pins for you!"
"Everyone's talking about Bill Nye's new book, Everything All at Once. Read a free sample."
"Alex just posted for the first time in a while."
I get notifications when an acquaintance comments on a stranger's Facebook posts, when shows I don't care about come to Netflix, and every single day at 6 PM when the crossword puzzle becomes available. Recently, I got a buzz from my close personal friends at Yelp. "We found a hot new business for you," it said. I opened the notification, on the off chance that Yelp had finally found the hot new business I've been waiting for. It did not. So I closed Yelp, stared into space for a second, and then opened Instagram. Productivity over. Over the last few years, there's been an increasingly loud call for a re-evaluation of the relationship between humans and smartphones. For all the good that phones do, their grip on our eyes, ears, and thoughts creates real and serious problems. "I know when I take [technology] away from my kids what happens," Tony Fadell, a former senior VP at Apple who helped invent both the iPod and the iPhone, said in a recent interview. "They literally feel like you're tearing a piece of their person away from them. They get emotional about it, very emotional. They go through withdrawal for two to three days." Smartphones aren't the problem. It's all the buzzing and dinging, endlessly calling for your attention.
"Hi David! We found new Crown jewels and Bottle caps Pins for you!"
"Everyone's talking about Bill Nye's new book, Everything All at Once. Read a free sample."
"Alex just posted for the first time in a while."
I get notifications when an acquaintance comments on a stranger's Facebook posts, when shows I don't care about come to Netflix, and every single day at 6 PM when the crossword puzzle becomes available. Recently, I got a buzz from my close personal friends at Yelp. "We found a hot new business for you," it said. I opened the notification, on the off chance that Yelp had finally found the hot new business I've been waiting for. It did not. So I closed Yelp, stared into space for a second, and then opened Instagram. Productivity over. Over the last few years, there's been an increasingly loud call for a re-evaluation of the relationship between humans and smartphones. For all the good that phones do, their grip on our eyes, ears, and thoughts creates real and serious problems. "I know when I take [technology] away from my kids what happens," Tony Fadell, a former senior VP at Apple who helped invent both the iPod and the iPhone, said in a recent interview. "They literally feel like you're tearing a piece of their person away from them. They get emotional about it, very emotional. They go through withdrawal for two to three days." Smartphones aren't the problem. It's all the buzzing and dinging, endlessly calling for your attention.
Just turn that stuff off. (Score:5, Insightful)
Use your phone solely as a pull thing. Turn off auto-sync for your emails too. You don't need to respond in seconds. It's an email.
Then, your phone interrupts you only when you want it to.
first post?
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly.
/guy who still uses a dumbphone to, like, make calls and stuff
Good solution to wrong problem (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: Good solution to wrong problem (Score:2)
I am so stealing that.
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Re:Just turn that stuff off. (Score:5, Insightful)
It doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. On the iPhone you can enable or disable notifications on an app by app basis. And, for most apps, you can even control how intrusively that app will be allowed to notify you.
Heck, you even get prompted "allow notifications from xxxxxxx?" before the app is allowed to bother you. Remember - just because they want to do it doesn't mean you have to allow them to do it.
Also - if an app behaves badly, don't allow it to run in the background: Settings -> General -> Background App Refresh
Really, this seems like more of an user education problem than anything else.
Re:Just turn that stuff off. (Score:5, Informative)
Android has similar, with long-pressing on an app's notifications. The ability to disable notifications was in result due to a "service", AirPush that got installed with various apps, which would spam the notification bar with crap.
Re:Just turn that stuff off. (Score:4, Informative)
I came here to say this! I don't use android, but I believe it works similarly... you can control notifications. Lyft lasted a whole 4 days for me before I squelched it. Email and Text are the only things that I allow popover for, and Instagram can put a badge on their icon... that's it for me and this entire story seems like a cry for help from someone with a first world problem.
Re:Just turn that stuff off. (Score:5, Insightful)
Really, this seems like more of an user education problem than anything else.
This, exactly this.
And it also goes to show how bloated the TFA's phone is. All those useless apps installed, each and every one of them copying his contacts, emails and whatever. Seriously, you allow a crossword puzzle app (why the F anyone would have that on their phone goes beyond me) to send you notifications? Even Yelp is questionable.
This is a self-inflicted wound from this clueless luser.
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Re:Just turn that stuff off. (Score:5, Interesting)
The problem is an insecure by design phone ecosystem, which in turn is driven by greed.
Bullshit.
It's a question of survival rather than greed; if Apple or Google does not deliver functionality, they will be upstaged on features and replaced. Look at Windows, IE, Java, and Adobe as the prime examples---lots of dead tech companies in their wake, and most of their competitors were technically superior.
A notification API is essential for the platform, and the Apple/Play Store has no business dictating which developers can use it. This means all apps have access---subject to approval by the user.
It's fundamentally impossible to secure a device from an ignorant owner without greatly restricting his access to it. The author of the article pointed out how to control notifications, so right there is an OS-level mechanism that the user controls. That's the most you can ask for, really---the platform has a mechanism that lets the user decide.
Security always involves a trade-off with convenience and usability. E.g., the same mechanism that allows Dropbox to access local photos will allow nefarious apps to do nefarious things if the user installs them. You either run each app in a silo, or you accept the risk of data exfiltration by a bad app.
The market demands functionality over security---not for the first time, either. They cannot sell a secure product that doesn't do what people want. In the consumer space, the market has repeatedly chosen insecure solutions because regular users do not care or understand.
Notifications are more of an annoyance than a security issue, and there is a setting to eliminate them. If a user does not want to do that, then he needs to make a choice: look at the app's internal notification settings, contact the developer, or find a replacement app.
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Really, this seems like more of an user education problem than anything else.
This, exactly this.
Not really, or at least not only that.
A ridiculous number of web sites now ask to be able to send you push notifications. It doesn't matter for most of us here (aside from being annoying) because we click no. But it's not really appropriate to be spamming everyone with those requests--you wind up with kids and old folks and the like who get their machines clobbered with notifications. "Buyer beware" is only okay when a service isn't being abused too heavily. As it becomes more mature, there should be more a
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This of course represents the majority of users. You are aware that slashdot forum posters are a tiny minority of users. Sure we get by with install app, app clunkym remove app. Install a bunch of apps in the beginning get used to the app marketing spiel, fool around with them, remove them quickly. Then there is systems audit, something only we do, review every app, not used enough, gone and this done a few times a year.
We do all sorts of stuff to our tech gear, they we gained and retained information to a
Re:Just turn that stuff off. (Score:5, Interesting)
I believe the article, for what it's worth, was talking about default behavior for apps, and furthermore about the relevance of said push notifications.
Black or white approach works in some but not all cases. The gray range in between depends on the app itself.
Some apps have good granular control on which notifications they should push, others don't. You're left with the black or white approach which sucks.
My personal pet peeve are shopping-related apps and their notifications. For example, recently I've been looking for an air conditioning unit, and a certain online shop sent me targeted pushes of air conditioning units offers and news. All good, I was actually satisfied with that behavior, and at some point I decided to buy one. After buying one through that very same online shop, through their app, I still keep receiving push notifications on Air Conditioning units, although I definitely don't need another one. At the very least they should realize the deal was done or allow me to turn off that specific notification type.
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"Oh GOD! I have to DO SOMETHING to prevent all these annoying things that happen on MY phone that I (mostly) have CONTROL over? How DARE THEY require me to take an active role managing my mobile device!" /s
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Ir this could just be clickbait for the failing Wired magazine.
In any case, turn off all notifications by default, then turn on the ones that make sense to you. On iPhone you can specifically decide how and when to be notified. For example in mail only your favorited. I am sure the
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If you had push notifications, you may have got first post.
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I do emails because I get my voice message alerts through there for some reason. And I have kids, so just in case there is an emergency. Only my family has the email I get alerts on.
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Turn off auto-sync for your emails too. You don't need to respond in seconds. It's an email.
That's no reason to turn off auto-sync, just turn off notifications for emails. With auto-sync, the emails will be there the next time that you look at your phone, but won't require you to respond immediately.
When I punch myself in the balls.... (Score:5, Funny)
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And I bet it hurts you when you punch yourself in the balls too!
(I guess it's not surprising that an idiot would assume that everyone else is an idiot too. How does the author even have a paying job?)
Simple solution (Score:5, Insightful)
Turn them the fuck off and stop whining about it.
Agree! Self-inflicted ignorance here. (Score:2)
I know, eh?
Oh, btw, sometimes my phone rings. It's so annoying! I demand that they stop making these things that make sounds and annoy me!
duhh....
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Sometimes I think they were created as a foil to drive me to reading about Bat Boy. But I'd sooner sit on the kitchen floor reading soup labels to get my reading fix than to click that link.
I automatically disable them (Score:4, Insightful)
The only ones I need are messaging and email. Everything else is on pull.
You can turn that stuff off (Score:3, Insightful)
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Yeah, how is this even a story? Before I had good notification tools, anything that popped up something useless got deleted. Now that there are decent notification and permissions tools in Android, I just lock everything down as needed. Other than Google Play services, which cause apps to throw all sorts of weird errors when you don't allow it access to your mic, location, and body sensors, most apps fail gracefully when not allowed access to a resource.
to hell with everyone (Score:1)
Smartphones are making me HATE technology, and humans in general.
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PFFFT! Newbie.
So don't use those apps (Score:3)
Nobody's making you use the Facebook app. You can just as well go to the Facebook webpage in your web browser. (A tip: messaging works from the mobile browser if you go to mbasic.facebook.com) I presume the same is true with most other apps, like Yelp or Reddit, which have web pages. Not only is this better for your sanity, but it minimizes the prying these companies can do into your private information.
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The problem I have is the apps that have started giving me pointless notifications as of late. Not google maps, I don't want to leave feedback about my experience at the grocery store to help others. No google maps, this restaurant really doesn't have any interesting photo ops, it's in the middle of a strip mall.
Why do people install these stupid apps? (Score:4)
Yelp app? WTF? Are you serious? Why would anyone install such a thing on his computer? (Yes, your phone is a computer.)
If I want to find a restaurant, I just open my web browser, type "ye", it fills the rest, and I am at the yelp web site where I can search for restaurants all I want.
I do not want your crappy app.
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Why search on yep. Search your favorite mapping app for restrauants stores etc. not only will it pull up reviews but you can see where they are in relation to your location which is far more useful.
Re:Why do people install these stupid apps? (Score:5, Informative)
Then tell their site that you're using a computer instead of a phone.
Having my phone's browser claim to be on a computer instead of a phone has actually made the web usable again. It's gotten rid of all the horrible "mobile optimized" websites (Slashdot being among them), it's gotten rid of all the pop-up prompts to download the app for each website (I don't need your app to view your webpage, I have a browser for that! 90% of all apps seem to just be browsers pointing to specific webpages) And it allows me to see all the content on sites instead of just a small fraction of it.
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Having my phone's browser claim to be on a computer instead of a phone has actually made the web usable again.
Yes, this! I'm surprised that not everyone does this out of habit at this point.
"Becoming"? (Score:2)
The vast majority of push notifications were useless and annoying from the very beginning. That's why I disable all of them by default.
Sigh (Score:4, Informative)
Android phone.
Hold on the notification.
Block all notifications.
Never hear from that program again.
I haven't yet allowed one app except those that actually NEED to inform me (e.g. a mail app) and even there, I paid for TouchDown so I could put on working-hours to turn off work-email notifications when I just don't care about them (i.e. outside of work days/hours) - maybe the default mail app does it now, but it didn't years ago when I bought TouchDown.
And if a program doesn't allow me to fine-tune notifications so I get spammed with "product updates" when all I want is the message my friend sent me? I just uninstall the app and - usually - use their website instead.
In the same way that the telephone is the rudest device known to man (ANSWER ME NOW, ANSWER ME NOW, I'M GOING TO KEEP RINGING, ANSWER ME NOW), notifications are the spam of the modern era.
Turn them off. How to do so on an iPhone/iPad? Don't ask me but surely there's a was as simple as the above.
"UNWANTED NOTIFICATION!" - hold finger on it, say "Fuck off" (purely for frustration venting), turn off app's permission to ever post a notification again.
Oh, and stop installing dozens of apps for unnecessary shit that you could just use the website (again - same thing, never allowed a "desktop notification" in my life on a browser).
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This is false. iOS allows you to disable notifications... in fact the "settings" menu is not allowed inside of apps... it's always contained within the iOS settings menu, so the app maker can't deny you the ability to control it.
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And it's not the gun that's the problem... (Score:2)
"Do you want to authorize push notifications?" (Score:3)
Just click no. Problem solved!
No one is making you accept the push notifications. In most cases, the user is explicitly allowing them at each app install. Most users are just horrible sysadmins.
I only get push notifications from my email and calendar and it works for me.
Only LUDDITES use push notifications. (Score:3, Funny)
Apps!
Got that right... (Score:4, Insightful)
This guy was a douche in Seattle 20 years ago and now he a useless tool nationwide. ESAD!
What happened to Wired? (Score:1)
I haven't been there in a long time, so maybe this is old stuff, but whatever they did with their layout is awful, and renders the site essentially unreadable for me.
Then them off (Score:2)
Simple. Turn off app notifications.
Maybe if you don't have your phone beeping and buzzing at you ever time someone posts about their latest starbucks latte purchase you will pay more attention to the world around you and look up more often.
So who's smart phone is it? (Score:1)
Privacy Implications (Score:1)
Most of those apps don't seem to care that much if what they're notifying you about is actually useful to you. I know it's anecdotal, but rarely do I get a notification from Facebook about a friend's activity that actually matters to me. Instead, they're interested in maximizing the amount of time you spend with their app open, so they can track more of your activity and serve up more advertising to you.
I remember when Facebook created the news feed about ten years ago. People denounced it as creepy and
Notification block (Score:3)
That's why I use the built-in notification blocker in Android.
There are very few apps that I actually want to see notifications from. Like Fallout Shelter "A deal on..." BLOCKED. Tapatalk "Blank has just posted in..." BLOCKED. Heck, my file manager decided to pop up a push notification for some garbage BLOCKED.
Do that a and your troubles will melt away. I get notifications for my gmail account, not my other two accounts. I get notifications for text and Hangouts, but nothing from FB, etc.
People that complain about too much push are probably too lazy to be bothered or don't know if you swipe the notification sideways partially on Android, you can click the little gear that appears and block or silence notifications from that app.
I'm sure iPhones have a way to deal with this, too.
The OP is clearly an iPhone user (Score:1)
Those began to wake up and see their favourite platform is lacking at best.
Simple solution (Score:2)
Apps, on iOS at least, need to get permission before they can send you push notifications. I only grant permission to apps that I actually want to get push notifications from. No game would ever need it, but mail, twitter, etc? Sure, they can have it.
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On android I think it defaults to allowing (maybe asks when installing), but any notification can be held down on to revoke that apps notification permission.
Currently, only e-mail and texting have notification privilege on my phone.
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Android defaults to allow for notifications, but you can deny either by holding the notification down or by going to the phone settings, both are easy methods.
Complaining vs. doing (Score:4, Insightful)
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Pro tip: (Score:2)
Tech really does make peoplw stupid. (Score:2)
You lose your bet. I don't give the apps permission to send push notifications. It's really that simple.
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Not to mention a bit dramatic.. If random apps are even remotely capable of damage approaching ruination of one's life: Something is amiss.
In addition to fixing notifications... (Score:2)
Uhh, turn it off. (Score:2)
Just delete them (Score:2)
After the invention of micro payments, I don't play games anymore on my phone or tablet as they have destroyed the gameplay. So I don't install many "app" these days.
But when an app pulls a stunt like that, I either block it or delete it. Endomondo started sending me a notification every Saturday morning that I should check how my week went in terms of exercise. I use that app so after it had done that twice, it lost it's privilege to interrupt me.
I noticed that Facebook and Twitter wanted to train me to ch
Reminds me of a Tamil proverb (Score:2)
Think about this before installing random apps in your phone and give it all sorts of permissions.
Not a problem (Score:2)
This isn't a real problem. Just don't turn it on. Issue avoided.
Useful vs Promotional Notifications (Score:3)
There's a lot of comments recommending that users disable notifications for apps. Unfortunately, this is a rather simplistic way of looking at it.
I became particularly frustrated with the ASDA groceries app (ASDA is a supermarket chain in the UK, owned by Walmart). They send push notifications to advise on order status, expected delivery time, etc. However, they also send push notifications simply to advise that xyz product is discounted this week.
Very happy to receive the first kind of notification, not so happy to receive the promotional messages. There is no way to select the type of notifications that I'm happy to receive (confirmed with ASDA directly).
Companies aren't allowed to adopt an all-or-nothing approach with text messages or emails or even phone calls / letters (data protection laws in UK/Europe). I'm honestly not sure of the legal position around in-app notifications, but it's certainly frustrating that many organisations don't allow users to filter the types of notifications sent.
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I'll admit there are several of these types of apps out there that do this, and I definitely blame the developers for being stupid. But I also happily disable their notifications when they do.
I'm pretty forgiving, I'll let most apps have notification permission, until they abuse it, then it's gone. If I find their notifications to improve my life, they stay. In this case, I'd recommend disabling the notifications, and considering whether a competing supermarket is willing to respect you more than ASDA does.
thats a fact Jack!!! (Score:2)
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First world problems (Score:2)
Why we can't have nice things (Score:3)
E-mail used to be very useful until people started to abuse it with unsolicited advertising. Now we see this with push notifications. If I get a weather app to give me notifications on severe weather in the area then I expect only that kind of notification. When it starts to give me notifications on sales for umbrellas and boots then the notifications become an annoyance instead of a useful tool.
Turning off notifications doesn't help, because that means stopping the notifications I don't want as well as the ones I do. I've already seen a lot of posts mocking this since disabling them is a simple solution but it's not. I want control of what notifications I get and if the people making the push notifications cannot be honest about the notifications then they become meaningless.
I want notifications for things *I* see as important. If *I* can't get that control then *YOU* (the person offering the notifications) can't use them at all. Not only do *YOU* not get to use them but you create the expectation that they will be abused by other people. Since *YOU* can't seem to control yourself then nobody gets to use it.
It seems push notifications got killed even before people made them useful. Good job people, you threw the baby out with the bathwater, and then ran the baby over with a lawnmower.
Burnout.... (Score:2)
The real takeaway from this? (Score:2)
You're just NOW figuring this out...?!? (Score:2)
Errrm ... I hate to break it to you pal ... (Score:2)
... but from what I can tell they were already 100% annoying 99.9% of the time roughly 3 weeks into the first smartphone introducing them. I have only a few apps allowed to do this and even services that one would deem intelligent (like Google itself) pester me with stuff I'm not interested in - such as traffic and weather in a city 3000 Kilometers away that I left this morning.
Bottom line: Not really news this tidbit.
Like going to a supermarket (Score:2)
and complaining about all the products that you don't want to buy.
When an app gets on my nerves with notifications I just ground them. On my phone newly installed apps have to ask anyway if they should be allowed to throw notifications at me and the usual answer is no.
Sorry for being sensible about that.
Are you fucking stupid? (Score:2)
What. The. Shit. In the amount of time it took Joe Blow to write this, he could've turned them all off. Here's a life tip: when a useless app asks to send you pushes, DENY IT. Fuck.
Re: (Score:2)
You didn't read the article then, in which he tells you to turn off all your notifications except for phone, text messages and calendar, like he did.
The summary is not a true reflection of what is in the article.
Unsubscribe! (Score:2)
What's the big deal? About the third time that I get an unwanted and irrelevant push notification, I unsubscribe to that mailing list. It takes a while to whittle it all down, but it is possible to have your life back.
Switch them off (Score:2)
Switch them all off.
The only notifications I get now are calendar reminders and messages sent directly to me, either via SMS or the few messaging apps I use. Every other notification is switched off completely. Yes, even e-mail and Facebook.
It's the only way to stay sane.
The smartphone, the modern world Tamagotchi (Score:2)
remember those little annoying things. The smartphone has taken it's place. "Reply to me", "watch me", "tell me this and that"
Re: First! disabled (Score:1)
my rotary phone does not push does not pull
Re: First! disabled (Score:5, Insightful)
And if you have a modern smart phone, Einstein.....you can switch the permissions to annoy you with push notifications OFF.
In fact, pretty much every app I've ever installed right off to bat, asked if I would allow push permissions, to which I clicked NO....
How did the guy that submitted this story MISS such a trivial thing...?
Re: First! disabled (Score:2)
Re: First! disabled (Score:4, Informative)
I don't know about iphone, but for Android this is dead simple to do: Long press on the notification, tap block, tap done. The app still works as normal, just no notifications.
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There are plenty other wrong things with apps.
I killed with fire recently Youtube (in FF, I can kill youtube ads by ad blocker, in the app I can't), Linkedin. I would have killed all Amazon apps but it seems that they have been pre-installed. Everything that has a website needs to go. All the small conveniences they do are not worth it.
There are exceptions though. My bank app is actually quite good.
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... and then aren't able to turn it off again, and then write an article about it? Sure, makes sense.
Clickbait anyone?
Re: First! disabled (Score:2)
I kinda want to take the bet they offered in the summary. I don't even know where my phone is. I think I left it in the car. I don't tend to carry it with me. I have no apps other than what came with it. It does push email, I think.
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Surely there is no way anybody would actually click something when the summary is that stupid. That's what these new guys don't get.
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I use several apps that give me an option to turn off notifications, but they come back on...
Complaints do not solve these problems...
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Instead of using the in-app method, you can go into the settings/apps somewhere and forbid an app from being able to send notifications (at least in android).
Generally if some app starts spamming me with notifications, I'm inclined to remove it, unless I really want it, then I go and block notifications. Sure I could block notifications as my first course, but I want to punish app developers for being stupid about notifications for their crappy app.
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At least on Android, you can forcibly disable the notifications on the OS level per-app. This will prevent an app from presenting a notification regardless of any in-app settings.
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You are using Android. When an app in iOS requests access to your camera/notifications/contacts/location/etc the OS pops up a requester saying "Hey, FooBar want's to send you notifications! Allow or Cancel".
Most people just punch "allow". I evaluate each app and only allow it to have the access I think it is necessary for it. And you can turn it off later if you decide wrong in the OS's settings area. I've never had an app override my wishes (I don't think that is possible).
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Never allow anything until after what you were trying to do failed. Then consider if you even want to do it.
Never trust.
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Re:Protip (Score:4, Insightful)
Protip #2: Nothing involving money enters my phone. No banking apps, no credit card apps, no NFC payments, nothing. Saves a whole lot of hassle if my phone ever decides to disappear, fail or explode (not necessarily in that order).
Protip #4: No money enters my wallet. No cash. No credit cards. No blank checks. Nothing. Saves a whole lot of hassle if my wallet ever decides to disappear, get lost, or stolen.
Protip #5: No person ever enters my car. No friends. No family. Not even myself. Nobody. Saves a whole lot of hassle if my car ever breaks down.
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If your phone explodes next to your wallet full of cash, you've lost your money in a burning mess of phone, wallet, crotch and cash.
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phone, wallet, crotch and cash.
I love that song. It's like a Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme for the 90's.
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No he's normal. He just spies through his neighbor's windows now.
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Exactly. When the author starts off with "Download more than a few apps and the notifications become a non-stop, cacophonous waterfall of nonsense", I couldn't help but laugh, since that hasn't been my experience at all. Mine goes more like:
1) Download app
2) Launch app
3) Receive prompt to enable notifications
4) Deny it
Unless an app has provided me with a compelling reason for allowing notifications prior to prompting me to enable notifications, I never enable them in the first place. Simple as that.
Well des
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Err...and if they don't abuse, they Tighten?
Sorry..I don't get it...
Loose?
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There's a "deny" button for a reason.
Though I've never figured out why they bothered to include an "allow" button...
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Some apps may silently update their own code internally without downloading an update.
They have to get that update from somewhere, though. That's one of the reasons why I recommend rooting your phone and installing a firewall. My phone blocks all app traffic, both inbound and out, unless I specifically allow it to happen. This helps to prevent spying, telemetry and sneaky updating.